Do I have Apnea?

Wow, I just discovered this forum! Can't believe this even exists, how cool!

I am trying to figure out if I might have OSA, or something else. For years my wife has complained about my snoring, and she now wears earplugs every night as a result. I often feel very tired when I wake up, but I have never felt like sleeping during the day, and have never fallen asleep or felt like I was going to fall asleep during the day. I'm 46 yrs old, 6'0" tall, and 200 Lbs, and generally pretty healthy. I get about 8 hrs of sleep a night. Sometime I wake up in the night, and I usually have trouble getting back to sleep, often because of dehydration. Sometimes I breathe heavily, as if to catch my breath, when I awaken.

A few months ago when laying restfully reading before bed, I noticed that I failed to breathe enough - almost like my breathing became very shallow and insufficient, and then I would consciously take a few large breaths of air, and then go back to what I was doing, only to find a minute or two later that I was out of breath again. I kept thinking to my self, "why did I forget to breathe"? But of course breathing should be involuntary, right? This was on a trip to a friend's place at high altitude, so I just chalked it up to that. But I find this happening at home, where I live near sea level. I looked this up, and it seemed that Cheyne Stokes Respiration seemed to most accurately describe this condition:
[Tried to post a link to wikipedia page for this but cannot do so as a guest]

OSA? CSA? Cheyne Stokes Respiration? I don't know - I think if I have anything, it is probably pretty mild, but I am definitely more tired than I remember feeling, and I don't spring out of bed, ready for the day, like I used to. I am worried about this getting worse, and affecting my health negatively. I have a younger brother with OSA who uses a CPAP. I called a sleep center to try to get in for a sleep study, but was told I needed a doctor's referral. I suppose I need to go see my Dr and get him to refer me.

Any words of wisdom from those who have tread here before?

Go see your doctor and get that referral along with a good complete checkup if you haven't had one lately.

Words of wisdom...get ahead of this while the wife is in the earplugs stage, and before she move out of the bedroom.

All of the symptoms and anecdotal stories sound familiar, and sleep apnea is a pretty good bet. A home test would be a good screen and won't cost so much. Leaving this until it affects your income, health or marriage is not a particularly smart approach. You have nothing to lose but a good night's sleep to learn if this is a solution for you, or if you should focus attention in another direction.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do, but you seem to know what needs done....do it.

What is meant by a "home test"? I was thinking of getting a pulse oximeter that I can wear overnight that records oxygen saturation. Would that be a good first step prior to a full-blown sleep study?

An overnight sleep study would be best...especially if your insurance will pay for it. The overnight study checks many more things than a home study

The main drawback to pulse ox only is that not everyone will have significant desats with OSA.
So a negative results doesn't always mean no OSA but of course a positive result usually answers at least that one question.
Also there are other sleep disorders and problems which could cause problematic symptoms that aren't necessarily related to OSA and might be picked up on an in lab sleep study...or a home sleep study than encompasses more than just the over night pulse ox.

But yes...the overnight pulse ox would be a good starting point but just realize that it has its limitations.

Home sleep studies...they can vary in how much detailed data they gather...from the very basic pulse ox only to more detailed data to include respiration, using a thoracic belt, leg leads, EKG, etc....the cost various...the more data they gather the more expensive it is.

SleepsOnTheBlink wrote:What is meant by a "home test"? I was thinking of getting a pulse oximeter that I can wear overnight that records oxygen saturation. Would that be a good first step prior to a full-blown sleep study?

A home study would begin with a discussion with your doctor explaining your concerns. The detail of a home study can vary, but it is a screening test that usually includes respiration rates, oximetry and perhaps some other measurements that can point to a need for further study, or a prescription for APAP. Many insurance companies now use home tests as a prerequisite to a lab study. It is a logical, low-cost way to start the diagnostic process.

SleepsOnTheBlink wrote:What is meant by a "home test"? I was thinking of getting a pulse oximeter that I can wear overnight that records oxygen saturation. Would that be a good first step prior to a full-blown sleep study?

this is an example of home testing: https://winkhealth.com/app#/about_sleeptest

OnTheBrink asks...Any words of wisdom from those who have tread here before?

One of the reasons that I occasionally hang around on this fine forum is to give a reply to posts and questions just like yours.

I can tell you that your symptoms and experiences are quite familiar to many of us apneic patients (we are not "victims") hereabouts.

If you are unsure as to testing, I'll relate an experience of mine.

I was fairly certain that I had sleep apnea, however I kinda, sorta thought that it wasn't bad enough to take up space in the sleep lab for proper diagnosis. After my doc had set everything up for me, I bowed out saying that it wasn't likely serious enough. Then, a day or so later, I figured that I really needed to know for certain so I bugged the doc and he agreed to represcribe the sleep study.

Fast forward to my appointment with the doc to see my sleep study results... the doc (great physician, btw) looked at my charts and said..."for someone who thinks he doesn't have apnea, you sure got it." The results being off-the-charts in the serious way.

I'll also say that I had no idea of the many, many improvements to my life that xpap (optimized for maximum therapeutic value) would give me. Since my diagnosis, I have noticed others with similar "issues" and encouraged them to ask their docs for a sleep study. Most have, and those folks are thanking me to this day.

Bottom line, get the study. You can thank me later (by encouraging others to get the study).

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